First critical reactions to Captain America: Civil War call it an "action masterpiece"

2016 is the year comic book villains unite and heroes fight. We’ve already seen the first heroic throwdown in Batman v Superman, which unfortunately was not as uniformly well received as we had hoped for. Some fans loved it, while some (like myself) thought it was decent enough but with a few big problems. When it came to critical reception though, there was an almost universal loathing with some hyperbolically declaring it worse than Batman & Robin, which certainly takes some doing.

However, when it comes to 2016’s other big superhero dust-up, sentiment apparently could not be more different. The first critics screening took place in Los Angeles over the weekend, and while any attendees would still be embargoed from writing full reviews, some did take to Twitter to express their reactions. And the general sentiment (though there were a small amount of exceptions) appears to be that not only have co-directors Joe and Anthony Russo managed to one-up their previous effort, Captain America: Winter Soldier – considered by many to be Marvel’s best film to date – but they may even have given us the best Spider-Man thus far as well.

HOLY HYPED UP EXPECTATIONS, BATMAN! Suddenly the 25th – which is the date of our press screening – seems like an absolute eternity away! I can’t imagine how you guys must feel as you only get to see it on Wednesday, 29 April 2016. Yes, it’s only 24 hrs later, but do you have any idea how long those 24 hours are going to feel?!

Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War finds Steve Rogers leading the newly formed team of Avengers in their continued efforts to safeguard humanity. But after another incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability, headed by a governing body to oversee and direct the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers, resulting in two camps—one led by Steve Rogers and his desire for the Avengers to remain free to defend humanity without government interference, and the other following Tony Stark’s surprising decision to support government oversight and accountability.

The film is set to feature the return of Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America, this time joined by Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man, Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow, Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson / Falcon, Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch, Paul Bettany as The Vision, Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton / Hawkeye and Don Cheadle as Jim Rhodes/War Machine.